Kickr Core Increasingly Noisy

I’ve had my Kickr Core 4 months and done 4,500km on it. Just the past couple of week it has got really loud (video below), sounds like a turbine winding up, anybody else had the same problem?

I have had to return my core after 13 months and around 5,000 miles. Similar issue, sounded like the bearings were grinding and failing. You should contact Wahoo support. I got a refurbished core sent once fedex confirmed I had shipped my old one.

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Had the same noise with my 2nd Kickr Core. It quickly progressed to a loud knocking sound. I interpreted it to be a bearing issue. Fortunately, Wahoo has been pretty good about replacing them, albeit with refurbished units. I’d advise you contact them. Cheers.

Thanks, I had pinged a ticket off to Wahoo too, but being the weekend, was seeing what else people had experienced. They came back today and as you suggest, it looks like they’ll be replacing it.

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A friend of mine just replaced the bearings himself as his unit was out of warranty The bearings are easy to source from any online or bricks and mortar outlet. He says it’s never been quieter…

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Mine technically was past the 12 month warranty as well, but they replaced it anyway. I asked Wahoo Service if there were any preventative maintenance instruction to prevent this from happening again and they told me not to worry, if it fails again to contact Wahoo Support and they will replace it again… so apparently the warranty is now lifetime?

Edit, still would like to see the process your friend went through to replace his bearings as it is probably faster than waiting for Wahoo to send a replacement.

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There’s a video on YouTube of a guy cleaning (with WD40) his bearings. Doesn’t look at all hard to take apart. To be honest, his still sounded noisy to me after, but then as I say, he didn’t replace the bearings. Looks like the sort of thing I could do in years to come if Wahoo don’t keep supporting as well as they seem to be doing this time. They are collecting it on Thursday.

What surprised me watching the video was how much rust colour was coming off his bearings. I wonder if sweat is getting into them?

Thought I’d update on this. Pretty impressed with Wahoo’s service. Within a week of raising the ticket (which I’d done at the same time as my original post) I had a new trainer yesterday, ridden today and much quieter.

Obviously there’s a worry about the longevity now, but can’t fault the service. Was without a unit for just 3 days (each of which I rode IRL instead)

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Warning from a French guy : this level of customer service doesn’t apply to us (Europe?).
Kickr core started to make a friction noise two months after end of warranty.
Got an offer for 250€ (plus shipping…) for a refurbished one with only 120 days warranty.
Almost makes me want to sink the 800€+ cost of this unit (during the covid lockdowns, no small profits…).

Bref n’achetez pas, c’est un joujou fragile.

I had a new Kickr Core for a month (15 hrs) when it started make weird noises. Wahoo support replaced it for a refurbished one.

The 2nd one lasted for 9 months (134 hrs) until the noises came. Still under warranty, Wahoo support replaced it for a refurbished one.

The 3rd one is now at 8 months (114 hrs). There were some light noises but no more than a sound of chain or Headwind. I may be in similar situation as you next time :grinning:.

Anyone knows how many hours are the Kickrs supposed to last?

As for how long they last, I have just come to the end of the bearings on my third Kickr Core. So far the Kickr has been replaced twice under warranty… I haven’t received an answer to my latest ticket yet.
It looks like around 20,000-25,000km is the break point. My cycle target is currently 20,000km per year and so it looks like a Kickr will last about one year at that rate.
This has been my experience of time and distance before the bearings complained.
Bike 1 580 Hours 19,673 km 104,486 Metres elevation
Bike 2 613 Hours 19,203 km 108,515 Metres elevation
Bike 3 742 Hours 24,613 km 138,192 Metres elevation